The NCAA Tournament bracket is out, and it’s time to search for the Cinderella teams to pull off first-round upsets.
In 2025, five double-digit seeds advanced to the second round, including No. 12 seeds Colorado State and McNeese. The only team seeded 10 or lower to make it to the round of 16 was Arkansas, who lost in overtime to Texas Tech.
Now that the field is set, the job is to find the handful of double-digit seeded squads that may ruin brackets and create new storylines. Let’s look at three teams to keep an eye on during the first round of the NCAA Tournament that have the potential to advance.
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Double-Digit Seeds to Watch in the First Round
Since the gap has widened with talent on the top seeds in this event against lower-tiered squads, we’ll avoid backing teams seeded 13th or lower.
The beauty of filling out the brackets is you can take a chance on several teams pulling upsets — it’s just about which ones will come through.
Three teams stand out here: South Florida, VCU, and High Point.
#11 South Florida vs. #6 Louisville – Thursday, 1:30 PM ET
Two old American Conference rivals begin the Buffalo pod on Thursday afternoon. USF finished as the top seed in the American at 23-8 overall and 15-3 in league play. The Bulls wrapped up the automatic berth for winning the American Tournament, making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012.
Louisville (23-10) won its first four February games but closed with a 3-4 record, capped off by an ACC Tournament defeat to Miami. The Cardinals were held to 36% or worse shooting from 3-point range in four of the last six games. The Bulls have limited their past five opponents to lower than 29% shooting from downtown.
USF lost three conference games by a combined five points, while two of their non-conference defeats came to NCAA Tournament teams (Alabama and VCU).
Louisville lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season to Creighton and will be out for redemption. However, USF was by far the best team in the American and may have a great shot to knock out Louisville.
#12 High Point vs. #5 Wisconsin – Thursday, 1:50 PM ET
Wisconsin has put together a terrific season at 24-10, which included victories over Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan State.
With that said, this might be a letdown spot for the Badgers, who rallied past Illinois in overtime on Friday before getting bounced by Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
High Point (30-4) is back in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. The Panthers were knocked out by another Big Ten squad last season, falling to Purdue in the opening round.
Since the start of last season, High Point owns an incredible 59-10 record while losing one Big South game this year. The Panthers rank 32nd in the nation in 2-point shooting and own the fifth-lowest turnover rate.
High Point’s strength of schedule is low, but Wisconsin has failed in this spot before, losing two seasons ago in the No. 5 vs. No. 12 game to James Madison.
#11 VCU vs. #6 North Carolina – Thursday, 6:50 PM ET
Another ACC team on the ropes is North Carolina (24-8), who aims to snap a two-game slide. The Tar Heels were blown out by rival Duke, followed by a quick exit in the ACC Tournament against Clemson.
VCU (27-7) won the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Phil Martelli Jr.’s first season as head coach. The Rams finished 46th in the country in offensive efficiency and 35th in 3-point shooting.
The Heels are without freshman sensation F Caleb Wilson (19.8 PPG), who suffered a wrist injury in February. UNC hasn't been bounced in the first round since 2021, while VCU seeks its first tourney win since 2016.
The Rams have won 16 of their last 17 games and held six straight opponents to 66 or fewer points.
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Who will be this season’s Cinderella teams that bust the brackets in the first round? We'll soon find out which NCAA Tournament sleepers shake things up in a major way.
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